41. WISH ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

41. WISH

A	You can say 'I wish you luck /all the best /a happy birthday' etc.: ·         I wish you all the best in the future. ·         I saw Mark before the exam and he wished me luck. We say 'wish somebody something' (luck /a happy birthday etc.). But you cannot say 'I wish that something happens'. We use hope in this situation. For example: ·         I'm sorry you're not well. I hope you feel better soon. (not I wish you feel) Compare I wish and I hope: I wish you a pleasant stay here. I hope you have a pleasant stay here. (not I wish you have)
B	We also use wish to say that we regret something, that something is not as we would like it. When we use wish in this way, we use the past (knew/lived etc.), but the meaning is present: ·         I wish I knew what to do about the problem. (I don't know and I regret this) ·         I wish you didn't have to go so soon. (you have to go) ·         Do you wish you lived near the sea? (you don't live near the sea) ·         Jack's going on a trip to Mexico soon. I wish I was going too. (I'm not going) To say that we regret something in the past, we use wish+ had ... (had known /had said) etc.: ·         I wish I'd known about the party. I would have gone if I'd known. (I didn't know) ·         It was a stupid thing to say. I wish I hadn't said it. (I said it) For more examples, see Units 39 and 40.
C	I wish I could (do something)= I regret that I cannot do it: ·         I'm sorry I have to go. I wish I could stay longer. (but I can't) ·         I've met that man before. I wish I could remember his name. (but I can't) I wish I could have (done something)= I regret that I could not do it: ·         I hear the party was great. I wish I could have gone. (but I couldn't go)
D	You can say 'I wish (somebody) would (do something)'. For example: It's been raining all day. Tanya doesn't like it. She says: I wish it would stop raining. Tanya would like the rain to stop, but this will probably not happen. We use I wish ... would when we would like something to happen or change. Usually, the speaker doesn't expect this to happen. We often use I wish ... would to complain about a situation: ·         The phone has been ringing for five minutes. I wish somebody would answer it. ·         I wish you'd do(= you would do) something instead of just sitting and doing nothing. You can use I wish ... wouldn't ... to complain about things that people do repeatedly: ·         I wish you wouldn't keep interrupting me. (= please don't interrupt me) We use I wish ... would ... to say that we want something to happen. But we do not use I wish ... would ... to say how we would like things to be. Compare: ·         I wish Sarah would come. (= I want her to come) but I wish Sarah was (or were) here now. (not I wish Sarah would be) ·         I wish somebody would buy me a car. but I wish I had a car. (not /wish I would have)

EXERCISES

41.1	Put in wish(ed) or hope(d). 1 I ___wish_____ you a pleasant stay here. 2 Enjoy your holiday. I _____ you have a great time. 3 Goodbye. I ______ you all the best. 4 We said goodbye to each other and ________ each other luck. 5 We're going to have a picnic tomorrow, so I ______________ the weather is nice. 6 I _____ you luck in your new job. I __________ it works out well for you.
41.2	What do you say in these situations? Write sentences with I wish ... would .... 1 It's raining. You want to go out, but not in the rain. You say: ___I wish it would stop raining____ 2 You're waiting for Jane. She's late and you're getting impatient. You say to yourself: I wish __________________________________ 3 You're looking for a job- so far without success. Nobody will give you a job. You say: I wish somebody ______________ 4 You can hear a baby crying. It's been crying for a long time and you're trying to study. You say: _______________________________ 5 Brian has been wearing the same clothes for years. You think he needs some new clothes. You say to Brian: _______________________ For the following situations, write sentences with I wish ... wouldn't .... 6 Your friend drives very fast. You don't like this. You say to your friend: I wish you __________________________________ 7 Joe leaves the door open all the time. This annoys you. You say to Joe: _____________________________________________________ 8 A lot of people drop litter in the street. You don't like this. You say: I wish people ______________________________________________
41.3	Are these sentences right or wrong? Correct them where necessary. 1 I wish Sarah would be here now. ____ I wish Sarah were here now. _____________ 2 I wish you would listen to me. ________________________________________ 3 I wish I would have more free time. ________________________________________ 4 I wish our flat would be a bit bigger. ________________________________________ 5 I wish the weather would change. ________________________________________ 6 I wish you wouldn't complain all the time. ________________________________________ 7 I wish everything wouldn't be so expensive. ________________________________________
41.4	Put the verb into the correct form. 1 It was a stupid thing to say. I ________ hadn’t said _______1t. (I /not /say) 2 I'm fed up with this rain. I wish _____ it would stop _________. (it /stop) 3 It's a difficult question. I wish ____________the answer. (I /know) 4 I should have listened to you. I wish _________ your advice. (I /take) 5 You're lucky to be going away. I wish _________ with you. (I /can /come) 6 I have no energy at the moment. I wish _________ so tired. (I /not /be) 7 Aren't they ready yet? I wish __________. (they /hurry up) 8 It would be nice to stay here longer. I wish _________ to go now. (we /not /have) 9 When we were in London last year, we didn't have time to see all the things we wanted to see. I wish __________ longer. (we /can /stay) 10 It's freezing today. I wish ______________  so cold. I hate cold weather. (it /not /be) 11 Joe still doesn't know what he wants to do. I wish ___________. (he /decide) 12 I really didn't enjoy the party. I wish ___________. (we /not /go)

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